Think of him as a therapy dog
by Sabine Michaelis
Summary: Sirius is free, but has no place to live until Grimmauld place is made habitable. Dumbledore notices that Severus lives alone and has plenty of space for a dog, even if he really doesn't want one…
1. Chapter 1

**In which Severus Snape unwillingly discovers the benefits of therapy dogs**

"No."

"It is the only logical option, Severus." Dumbledore spoke calmly as ever, pale blue eyes gently bearing down on the sallow-skinned man standing next to the window of the office. Snape's teeth were clenched, his hands tensed in fury.

"Is he not in possession of a house?" he spat. "The very house that we have been _using as headquarters for the Order_?" His voice had risen to a hoarse shout, though he looked sheepish when one of Dumbledore's eyebrows twitched upwards.

"Sirius is indeed in possession of a house. However, as it has been abandoned for the past ten years it will take more than a few meetings in the kitchen to make it habitable."

"But—" he spluttered "Can't he just—do whatever it was he's been doing since he escaped? I'm sure he'll be much more satisfied with such arrangements."

This time the silvery eyebrow did more than twitch, though there was a twinkle of amusement in the blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles.

"Hide in the caves behind the castle catching rats? It is true, he is not thrilled with the idea of staying with you, Severus, but I cannot, in good conscience, send him back there. You are not a stranger to sacrifice, and this one is not so great as others in the past."

Severus clenched his fist on the window sill and glowered out the window at the school grounds. There was the lake, iron grey and placid as ever, save for occasional stirrings of the Giant Squid. There was the forest, shadowed and dangerous. The Whomping Willow. The Herbology classrooms. The scenes and sets of his childhood.

_ "Look at Snivellus with his head in that library book!" _

_ "Better not get too close, or you'll get grease all over it!"_

It all retuned to him as his eyes followed the small dark shapes of students going about their business on the grass. All the laughter returned, all the pain and humiliation. And that face, framed by dark hair as long as his own but somehow always windswept and attractive, contorted with mirth. How many times had he lain, dusty and bruised, as he stared up at that face? How many times had he been hexed or taunted in the hallways? It had been twenty years ago, yes, but it still stung.

"I _hate him."_ He hissed, half to himself and half to the wizard who regarded him thoughtfully from the desk across the room. "And the feeling is quite mutual."

"All I ask is that you keep him until Grimmauld place is in order."

The request sounded so reasonable from his lips, even though it was far from it. Severus also noticed that the headmaster did not make any mention of _when_ he would be able to get rid of the loathsome man. The headmaster sighed with the slightest hint of exasperation, then added with suspicious cheeriness.

"If it makes you feel any better, he will be in disguise as Snuffles for safety purposes."

"_Snuffles?_" Severus repeated with extreme incredulity, turning to stare at Dumbledore in disbelief.

"Yes." Dumbledore replied lightly, taking out a quill and ink as he closed the conversation.

"Think of him as a therapy dog. Having pets does wonders for stress relief."

From his perch near Dumbledore's desk, Fawkes trilled. Dumbledore smiled as Severus stormed out of the office, wondering gloomily how _he_ always ended up in these situations.


	2. Chapter 2

"There's no need to glare at me like that. It's not like I _want _to be here." Black said indignantly from where he leaned with crossed arms against the shabby cabinetry of Severus' kitchen.

"Then why, pray tell," Severus spoke through gritted teeth, "didn't you say as much to Dumbledore so that we could avoid all this…" he could not find a word to describe the abhorrent situation he found himself in. Sirius Black was in his kitchen with tousled hair, a five o'clock shadow, and a mix of defiance and loathing on his thin face. It irked Severus, how _casual_ he looked, lording about _his_ kitchen as if it was his own. He was arrogant as ever, and even his stint in Azkaban had not seemed to rid him of the way he looked at Severus as if he were someone utterly beneath him, something utterly repugnant. Severus returned the sentiment, and made it clear with his tone of voice. Black visibly bristled, and for a moment Severus thought he might be transforming, but the voice that growled a reply was distinctly, though unfortunately, human.

"You think I didn't try? I even explained what a slimy git you are and he still sent me here."

"I'm a git, am I?" Anger flared in Severus' chest, though a part of him knew he was being just as juvenile as the other man by responding to such a childish insult.

"At least I'm not cowering in someone else's house while better witches and wizards risk their lives." He snapped, hoping to cow the other at least a bit. He thought he saw Black flinch, but he barked a reply without missing a beat.

"At least I'm not a grown man bullying a child for looking like the man who stole his childhood crush."

Severus flushed with fury. To be accused of taking out his old anger at James on the boy, to hear his love for Lily so nonchalantly cheapened, it made him angrier than he had felt in a long time.

"Don't you dare bring Lily into this—" Severus snarled.

He was brandishing his wand, though he could not recall taking it out of his robes.

"My, my. He's barely been here ten minutes." Dumbledore admonished mildly as he returned from the restroom.

Severus lowered his wand, embarrassed to have been caught losing his temper. He did not take his eyes from Black, however. He, too, had lowered his wand, though he still clutched it so tightly his knuckles were white. Severus took a deep breath and did his best to empty his mind of all emotion before speaking in a careful, quiet voice.

"I will not have this man under my roof, Dumbledore."

The piercing blue eyes appraised him for a moment, and Severus felt distinctly uncomfortable. Something about those eyes always made him feel as if his mind was being slowly dissected, skilled occlumens or not. Then the moment was over, and Dumbledore smiled.

"Which is exactly why he'll stay here as a dog."

Severus clenched his teeth and returned his gaze to Black, who still glared at him.

"I'll bite you." Black muttered darkly.

"I'll have you neutered." Hissed Severus with such hatred that the other man took a step back.

"The only thing either of you will do is act like adults." Dumbledore interrupted loudly.

"Sirius, I think now would be an excellent time to transform."

Severus had been sitting in his small office for who knew how long. It had grown dark long ago, but he had neither noticed nor turned on a light. He was not working.

He was thinking.

How much of what Black had said was true? Was he misinterpreting the boy's motives? Projecting on him the cruelty he had seen in his father, cruelty that did not exist? Harry Potter was dreadful in his own right, surely. He had spent the past three years doing everything possible to get on Severus' nerves. He showed an utter lack of respect for authority and his only talent seemed to be getting himself and others into trouble. But…how often had the trouble come from outside sources? And even if it was all the boy's fault, he was—after all—only a teenager. Severus had made far worse decisions in those days, he had little right to judge. Decisions that had endangered people, decisions that had killed people. _He _had killed people. His left forearm prickled, but he resisted the urge to look at the mark there. The boy hated him, and Severus had every evidence that he deserved the loathing that stared him down from behind Lily's eyes.

Something scratched on the other side of the locked door. Then a bark shattered the silence and made him start. He had forgotten about Bla—Snuffles. He unlocked and opened the door with an irritable wave of his wand.

"What?" he demanded, just as irritably, as the large black dog trotted in.

Snuffles whined softly and stared at him expectantly. Severus was nonplussed.

"I'm afraid I'm not versed in annoying dog, so you'll have to be more plain." He snapped.

Snuffles rolled his eyes and licked his chops pointedly, then whined again. Severus was just about to order the dog out and tell him to solve his own bloody problems, when he became aware of the gnawing hunger in his stomach. It grumbled audibly and Snuffles nodded in assent before turning and heading off, presumably, to the kitchen.

Severus scoured the cabinets. There was not much there, and he realized that he could not remember when he had last eaten, let alone cooked. The milk in the fridge had gone off ages ago, and most of the other items were unrecognizable remnants of takeout or packets of ketchup. The dog whined again, and Severus glanced down at him. Their eyes met, and Severus glimpsed something other than hunger in the dark eyes.

"I… I've been away recently." He muttered evasively, gingerly opening a box of white rice with the consistency of cement. He was not sure why Snuffles was looking at him with such concern, or why he cared enough about what the dog thought to lie.

After disposing of everything in the refrigerator, he found a few packets of ramen. He had tossed the noodles into a small cauldron of boiling water—he had been too hungry to bother finding where his pots had gone—when a thought struck him. He eyed Snuffles uncertainly.

"Do dogs," he paused and faltered, "do you eat ramen?"

Snuffles wagged his tail.

They ate in silence, though not as uncomfortable a silence as Severus had expected. It was nice not to be alone in the cramped, silent house. And there was something endearing about the dog version of Black. Perhaps he was less infuriating on four legs, perhaps it was merely difficult to despise a dog. Severus sent the empty bowls floating into the sink, where they began to wash themselves. Snuffles rested his head between his paws, looking sleepy and content. Severus almost smiled.

"You're much less insufferable when you can't say anything stupid." He mused.

_Snuffles_ growled, but there was not much malice in the sound.

Severus's mattress bounced gently as another weight settled on it. He was on his back, staring up at the crack in the plaster that he always forgot to mend, but did not need to turn his head to deduce who was shaking the mattress.

"You may look like a mangy dog, Black, but you're still the last man on earth I'd let into my bed, so sod off." Severus grumbled, silently cursed himself for the childish insult. Black always brought out the worst in him. It did the trick, though. Something in his tone made the dog get off the bed immediately and return his the nest of cushions on the floor.

_"_Therapy dog." Severus snorted and turned over so his back was to the place where the animagus slept.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm going to the grocery." Severus declared when Snuffles sniffed quizzically at his dark cardigan and jeans. He did not like wearing Muggle garments, it reminded him too much of his childhood, but it really was easier and cheaper to buy things like milk and eggs at the non-magical grocery a few streets over. At least there the chances of purchasing banshee milk by mistake or running into a student were slim to none. Snuffles cocked his head in bemusement, ears flopping ridiculously, and Severus fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Not all of us are fortunate enough to have family homes fully equipped with dedicated house elves. Not that you'd know that." He meant to sneer, but it was very difficult to sneer at a dog. Snuffles seemed to ignore the comment, for in the next moment he bounded over to the front door and wagged his tail expectantly. Severus followed at a much less animated pace, all the while sifting through his wallet to make sure he had enough Muggle money. When he reached the door, Snuffles scratched it with a paw, as if to say _Hurry up, it's time to go! _Severus narrowed his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. You can't come." He scoffed.

Snuffles whined pitifully, staring up at Severus with mournful eyes.

"You cannot come." Severus stated firmly, stepping over the dog to open the door.

It was a grey day, with a light drizzle making everything blurred and slightly moist, but Snuffles was so enthusiastic it might have been the tropics.

"Stop acting like such a dolt." Severus seethed when Snuffles splashed through yet another puddle with all the zest of a puppy. Water droplets clung to the polyester fibers of Severus's black cardigan and the cuffs of his trousers were damp. He was chilly and irritated, but Snuffles was utterly oblivious to the pallid man's sour mood. The dog was indefatigable, conversing with the few dogs and children who passed them by. Severus did his best to staunchly ignore his antics.

And then, at some point during the short walk, something odd occurred. His exasperation drained away. He felt himself relax—though he did not mean to. He was always so on guard when he was out; always uncomfortable and mistrustful of even the smallest gesture, but something about having the warm cheerful presence next to him was soothing. The rain slowly lightened, and by the time they reached the shop the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, and Severus may have _possibly_ smiled.

The sliding automatic doors made Snuffles yelp in surprise. Severus choked back a laugh and ushered the wary creature inside. The doors were quickly forgotten when Snuffles caught the scent of the deli in the back. He padded next to Severus as they navigated the aisles, staring around in awe and wagging his tail.

"Haven't you ever been to a Muggle grocery?" Severus inquired as Snuffles nosed a box of corn flakes experimentally. Snuffles shook his head seriously and eyed the frozen food aisle with curiosity.

"Oi, you! Is that your dog?" a man shouted from somewhere behind them.

Severus turned slowly, realizing as he did so that the movement could not be particularly impressive without robes, and spoke with slow contempt to the rotund, red-faced fellow at the head of the aisle.

"I suppose."

The store's blue uniform polo was stretched to breaking point over the man's heaving stomach as he pointed accusingly at Snuffles.

"Yeah, well, you can't have dogs in here. Unsanitary, it is."

Snuffles snorted indignantly, but Severus almost laughed.

"Go home, I'll meet you there." He murmured to the dog, who still had his hackles up after being called 'unsanitary'. Even on a dog's face, Severus recognized that stubborn set of his jaw from their school days.

"Go." He insisted, shoving the dog's side with his shin.

Snuffles glared at the man as he skulked from the store. Severus heard a small yip from the front of the store as the automatic doors startled him a second time.

"He must be very smart to know his way home alone." Commented a motherly middle-aged woman who had observed the entire exchange from further down the aisle. Severus' obvious utter lack of interest seemed not to faze her, for she continued even as he pored over the back of a box of Shreddies.

"My Rufus gets lost looking for the back door if I let him out—"

"Not really." Severus interrupted, tossing the cereal into his cart absently.

The woman stared at him in befuddlement as he was attacked by a fit of unwanted chuckles.

"He isn't really very smart."

He fled the aisle before she could say anything else.

Snuffles was curled on the front step when Severus returned home—the wards on the house (as well as the lack of a dog door) having prevented him from entering. He was still a bit miffed when he saw Severus, and the look he gave nearly made Severus lose control of his emotions for a second time that day. Annoyance on a floppy eared, fluffy frame was really more adorable than anything else. Not that Severus was going to admit that, even to himself.

He placed the many plastic bags on the kitchen table with a sigh of relief. Even with a charm to make the bags lighter, they had left red marks on his palms and thin fingers. Snuffles followed him in and nosed the bags, sniffing inquisitively. His ears perked up when he found a pre-cooked chicken breast in cellophane, but Severus snatched it off the table just in time.

"Not for you." He chided, as if to a child.

And, like a child, Snuffles pouted.

Severus rarely left the house, preferring minimal interaction when Dumbledore had no "errands" for him to run. He had things to do besides; lesson plans to draw up, potions to brew. He spent his life in the office.

Snuffles interrupted that life. He wanted food, he wanted to be let into the backyard, he wanted things to do, he wanted to just irritate the hell out of Severus. As the week wore on, he grew more and more restless and more and more insufferable. When he scratched on Severus' office door for the third time that hour, causing him to spill and extra drop of armadillo bile into the cauldron and thereby ruining the potion, Severus shouted at him.

"Whatever you want, get it yourself! It isn't as if you haven't got bloody thumbs!"

The following Thursday, Snuffles had become so maddening that Severus decided they needed to leave the house before he strangled the furry creature. They walked to the grocery again, and as before the open space did wonders for Snuffles' temperament. He quickly lost his sullen edge, and Severus even felt his own mood lighten. This time Snuffles only dropped Severus off at the door before heading back home, casting a fleeting glare at the sliding doors.

When Severus was picking out potatoes, thunder shook the store. Rain slapped the windows and roared in with the wind whenever the doors opened to welcome another stumbling, dripping figure. Grayish puddles formed on the linoleum tiles, dampening the hems of his dark trousers and forming grimy shoeprints wherever anyone walked. The chill permeated everything, making the frozen food aisle nearly impossible to approach.

"Oi! You can't bring that thing in here! It's dripping everywhere!" yelped the now-familiar voice of that furiously flushed employee from somewhere towards the front of the store.

"You're not making my baby stand out there in this gale!" retorted an equally furious, though female, voice.

"He's soaked through already, if he goes outside he'll surely catch his death!" she shrilled, grating voice reverberating off the walls and ceiling.

"That's not my problem! My problem is keeping this store clean and sanitary."

Severus was, despite himself, curious to see the "baby" in question. He put the potatoes in his basket, then made his way to the front of the store on the pretense of finding the pre-packaged scones. The argument continued, escalating in pitch and volume, as he moved towards it. Peeking around the display of baked pies, Severus saw a tiny woman in galoshes holding a terrier protectively. _Damn. _He thought as his mind raced back home to Snuffles. He hurried from the store with only half the items on his list.

The weather was even worse than it had looked from inside. The rain was less like individual drops, and more like a great opaque wall. It was like wading across the bed of a lake, and he would have been just that waterlogged at the end of his labors had be not cast an _impervius _charm on himself and his groceries. However, the _impervius_ could not keep out the cold—which gnawed at his bones through his wool cardigan—nor the wind—which battered him cruelly. It was slow going; the elements making the few blocks between the store and his house seem eternal. When he finally glimpsed his front door, he was windswept, frozen, and sorry for himself. But his pity for himself was entirely forgotten when he saw the dark dripping form curled on the step. Snuffles was soaked. His fur had been matted by the wind and drenched by the freezing rain. For one horrible suffocating moment, Severus thought that he was dead. Then the dog shivered, looked up at him, and wagged his tail feebly.

He carried him inside, cradling the huge dog as if he were a child and placing him on the parlor rug. He dried him with a spell, but Snuffles still cast such a pitiful figure that Severus kindled the long-disused parlor fireplace. The dog lay limply on the frayed carpet before the fire, moving only to draw labored breaths and occasionally shudder from the chill. Severus fetched a quilt, then two. Snuffles began to sneeze. Severus scoured his office frantically for ingredients, then began to brew a Pepper Up potion. His work was slower than usual, for every few minutes he had to check to make sure that Snuffles was all right. Each time he looked in, he felt a prickle of guilt.

Snuffles was too weak to raise his head and drink from a bowl, so Severus knelt next to him and fed him the potion in spoonfuls. Each small amount elicited a puff of steam from his ears and eased his breathing. Snuffles lay his head on Severus' lap, then closed his eyes.

"Your illness is my fault." Murmured Severus, only half speaking to Snuffles.

Snuffles opened his eyes slowly in response, then looked at him reassuringly as if to say: _No it's not_. Severus was not reassured. He had sent the dog home, not even thinking about the possibility that Snuffles might need to enter the house on his own. It was his responsibility to keep him safe, whether he wanted to or not.

"I should have—" he began, but the words caught in his throat. It was difficult to admit that he had been wrong.

"Well, since you live here…I thought," Severus could not recall the last time he had been so inarticulate. Finally, he gave up on words and waved his wand, conjuring a dark leather collar.

"This will let you pass by the wards and enter the house on your own." He explained softly, fastening it around Snuffles' neck.

The plastic bags of groceries lay forgotten in the entryway.


End file.
